Feature Flick: Fast Lane’s Host Gives Us Hope

You’ve seen Top Gear USA, right? Then we all agree that the last thing we need is another American car show. That said, Travel Channel’s Fast Lane might have a chance since Jason Harper is hosting. Harper is a regular contributor to Automobile Magazine and has a serious case of wanderlust. Take it from the people that travel with him—he turns every trip into an adventure, and the excitement starts the second he gets behind the wheel.

In Fast Lane, Harper takes trips around the world to explore the history and importance of cars in different cultures. His first stop: Italy. He manages to piss off the polizia in a Fiat Cinquecento, breaks down in a vintage Maserati, tries to look cool on a Vespa, earns back his “man card” by driving a Lancia Stratos rally car along 2000-ft cliffs, and races a Ferrari 458 Italia around the Imola circuit, the track that claimed Ayrton Senna’s life. “Imola, a track so dear to Ferrari that its real name is Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, was sensational in a 458 Italia—and more than a little terrifying,” says Harper. “I had no idea where the turns were, or what to expect. The front straight just goes on and on, and you can get up to incredible speeds. And since the circuit is actually in a town, not some remote location like most tracks, all the locals came to hang out. There was a guy there with his son, cheering on the Ferrari. The Italians take their cars more seriously than anybody else."

Fast Lane premieres tomorrow, April 12, at 1 PM EST on the Travel Channel. In the meantime, check out the two previews below.